Comments on: No racists allowed, the other Joseph Muscat says

By: Anthony Magri

Anthony Magri — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:20:20 +0000

These women contributors! They go personal without knowing whom they are addressing. Now it is the turn of a certain Ms. Corinne Vella.
She refers to long haul when travelling to Africa. Which country is nearer our shores Norway, Sweden, Finland the Baltic countries, Moscow or Nigeria, Kenya Mauritania ….Unless long in the expression long haul has another meaning than “long”
I am not interested at looking for travelling sites on the Internet, but I go through the unwanted literature that fill the Sant Antnin recycle centre out of curiosity to admire some nice photo either of land marks but particularly of the large tourists’ ships that enter harbour that illustrate the new generation of these splendid boats. I just received the Mondial Autumn tours brochure it invites tourist to visit Salzburg, Tyrol, all of Austria, the usual Lourdes, no African country is mentioned. Just to proof my point. This is just to proof my point.
About Malthus it will be interesting to know what he appears to know better besides population problems.
As for poor commun sense It is more practical to buy expensive goods in Malta, they are cheaper on the whole than the overall price that includes a trip to, out of all places, Catania, the normal shopping centre for Maltese housewives. Those who travel for shopping purposes are no tourists Ms Corinne Vella. A question: what does Corinne stand for, no sarcasm but out of curiosity. I have an extensive list of names with their commemortion dates.
With best regards.

[Daphne – Funny how some Ketlik men who have a problem with blacks, Jews and Protestants also have a problem with women – surprise!]

By: I. M. Dingli

I. M. Dingli — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:23:42 +0000

A. Gauci Cunningham, my only concern regards this pact is that once Malta signs in favour of voluntary burden sharing, if it doesn’t work, we will be tied up with this pact for 10 years. How’s that for short sightedness!

By: Zizzu

Zizzu — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 07:09:01 +0000

QUOTING Gove’: I’m not saying that we don’t have Arab and African genes flowing through our veins,

QUOTING Daphne – Modern humans originated in Africa, so we all have African genes, so to speak, and your contention is superfluous.]

UNQUOTING BOTH :)

As it happens I had written a dissertation on the molecular characterisation of G6PD. G6PD is the enzyme (protein) that catalyses the first step of internal respiration (i.e. how we get our energy at the cellular level). The enzyme is supremely important. G6PD is so important for life that it has retained its structure across various phyla, PHYLA, mind you, not species.
I was looking for mutations in the DNA “sections” that code for this protein. (I got the DNA from blood umbilical cord blood.)
I found that we share our mutations with African (continent) people. Keeping in mind the extreme importance of the enzyme this can only mean one thing: we are directly descended from African stock. Miscegenation does not dilute the DNA coding for this enzyme.
Put simply, if you don’t have the right protein, you die, so you can’t reproduce.
As regards races there are 7 distinct human “strains” – you may have heard of the seven daughters of Eve – each identifiable from mitochondrial DNA, which each of us inherits from the maternal side.
Races arise through a) chance mutations which do not kill the organisms carrying them in a given set of environmental parameters b) geographical isolation.
Biologically “races” means significant genetic variations among members of the same species which, however, are not big enough to forbid reproduction. It has none of the pejorative connotations normally associated with it.
A race is a “step” below “breed”.

By: A.Gauci Cunningham

A.Gauci Cunningham — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:50:26 +0000

Bondi+ asked a simple question : Should the Immigration Pact be signed?? I think the programme answered this question and left the majority I’ve met since then with one answer: YES!! This Pact ,against which our far-rightist conservatives joined with the guy who professes to be liberal and moderate are so much against, is a small step in the right direction and is for the very first time including the burden-sharing mechanism in a Europe-wide pact!! It might not work, it might not be fruitful or live up to our expectations and it is exactly for this reason why the PM and his Cabinet need to exhaust every possibility and every diplomatic opportunity to the full so as to make sure the mechanism together with EU financing ( increased to the tune of 5 million thanks to Simon Busuttil!!) leaves the desired results!!

I don’t know why this is so difficult for the usual LGaleas, Denis Catanias and Seychells of this world to fathom!! I don’t know why these people keep shooting or downplaying every constructive step only to offer nothing but hot air!! I don’t know why many are outraged at this problem and expect all the immigrants to vanish in thin air in a split second!! I don’t know why rational people start talking like the “ghaqda Nisa tal-kofii Morning” when they hear the word immigrants!! I don’t know why Joseph Muscat came out saying ‘lawrence don’t sign” and now all his merry men seem to be twisting this statement around!! Are we playing Sant’s game of changing our discourse according to the viewers so as to please everyone and his brother???? Or did Joseph Muscat misjudge the way this issue would turn out?? Will JM go to the protest tomorrow rubbing shoulders with those who oppose all his social policies?? Or will he hide behind a tree so as to say ” Ara I was here…but I wasn’t here…I clapped…but all those rascists around me are very bad….lawrence shouldn’t vote but those around me (MLP) think he should………..”

Fact–ONLY the government/PN has offered solutions (whether excellent or half baked) the others cliched themselves to the media and will cliche themselves to the streets waving flags of Malta and saying that they (far-right, ultra-Conservatives, mainly homophobic, hunter-huggers……..)love malta and are trying to protect us!! How?? God knows!!!!

By: Jean Gove'

Jean Gove' — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:05:27 +0000

Daphne,

Bad use of good science makes for bad science.

[Daphne – I’m not the one who roots for Norman Lowell.]

By: Corinne Vella

Corinne Vella — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:03:31 +0000

Anthony Magri: I don’t know what sort of travel brochures you receive, but if you really want information about travel to africa, there’s plenty online. It might have escaped your notice that travel to sub-Saharan Africa from Malta qualifies as long-haul, which usually costs more than a shopping trip to Catania. You don’t need a travel brochure to tell you that. You just need a bit of common sense.

Did Malthus have anything to say about narrow-mindedness?

By: Emanuel Muscat

Emanuel Muscat — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:26:05 +0000

Somebody is mixing things up:Iran and Persia are the same country and the iranians are not arabs but they are in their majority muslim!
We do have a malthusian problem though:the world is already overpopulated and our effect on nature is simply not sustainable in the long term:they used to tell us religiously that this argument was a rebuff to God’s providence:I guess the church has become more convinced that Malthus was not totally wrong in his prediction!

By: Jean Gove'

Jean Gove' — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:17:49 +0000

[Daphne – Malta’s dark skin comes from Africa or the Middle East. There can’t have been that many southern Indian people passing through and certainly no aboriginals from the Southern Hemisphere. As for your six-year absence from political groupings, I don’t think it’s been six years since I saw you on BondiPlus representing Imperium Europa. Or maybe the years are just tumbling by?]

That was about five to six years ago, yes. And I was then representing solely myself, despite associations.

In any case, the Latins and the Southern Europeans in general have always been dark-skinned. Did they get that dark-skin from Africans or Arabs too? I’m not saying that we don’t have Arab and African genes flowing through our veins, but simply answering your rather ridiculous contention that one is either a full blonde or an African-Arab admixture. The lack of naturally dark skin is a question of melanin and exposure to the sun – the higher up towards the North Pole the whiter any people will be, whether European or Asian, and the closer towards the equator they are the darker they will be, whether Latin or Arab.

[Daphne – Modern humans originated in Africa, so we all have African genes, so to speak, and your contention is superfluous.]

By: Anthony Magri

Anthony Magri — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 02:30:36 +0000

Antoine Vella.
It appears that you do not receive travel brochures every period. I do receive a lot. I go through them but according to what you write I must miss those that promote Sub Saharian Countries.
What you understand by “relatively” more expensive needs elaboration. Why do you consider Sub Saharian Africa ” relatively” more expensive? Yes Why?
I have a feeling that you went trough my contribution but failed to read the N.B.that encapsulated the whole argument.
Not racism but Malthusian is the problem.

By: Antoine Vella

Antoine Vella — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:42:25 +0000

Anthony Magri
Sub-Saharan Africa is already open to tourists and there are many Maltese travel agents who sell African holidays. The destinations are not as popular as the traditional ones because they are relatively more expensive and not everyone has enough “earnings” to afford them.

The rest of your comment is a poor attempt at humorous sarcasm which falls flatter than the veldt, to remain on topic.